"Bad Homburg, a city of style and romance " a Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Travel Page by Maria250

The Hesse-Homburg family was founded by Friedrich I of Hesse-Homburg. Friedrich II (1680 - 1708) attained fame as Prince of Homburg. In 1866, as a result of the Prussian War, Homburg became Prussian territory.

With the coming of the spa industry in the mid 19th century, which profited greatly from the casino built in town, Homburg changed into an internationally famous spa town.

The spa industry began with the discover of the Elisabethen fountain in 1834 although the designation "Bad" was not conferred until 1912. The first spa building and the first casino in Homburg were built in 1841-1842 by the brothers François (1806-1877) and Louis Blanc (1806-1852). They later took over the Casino in Monte Carlo, which is why the Homburg Casino is sometimes called the "Mother of Monte Carlo".

In 1888, Bad Homburg became known throughout the German Empire because Kaiser Wilhelm II declared Bad Homburg's Castle an Imperial Summer Residence. His mother, Victoria, the old emperor's widow and her eldest daughter lived there for several years. King Edward VII was often a guest too.

Today Bad Homburg is one of the wealthiest cities in Germany. The Hesse-Hochtaunuskreis and the Landkreis Starnberg regularly compete for the "title" of the wealthiest district in Germany. However Bad Homburg's citizens are very kind like all of the Hesse's ppl are (to my experiences).
Bad Homburg not only attracts tourists but also numerous business travelers due to the near of Frankfurt. Probably the right conditions for successful meetings, and great recreation anyway!

.. or visitors of Bad Homburg are kindly taken care of from where ever they might be!

Speaking of hospitality which is a rather rare thing in Germany compared to the USA and its greatest hospitality, I believe Hesse is yet a nice exception!

Let's see where else I experienced the rare thing of "German hospitality"*

1. Hesse
2. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (sharing border with Poland)
3. Bavaria (sharing border with The Swiss, Austria, and The Czech)
4. Baden-Wurttemberg (sharing border with France, The Swiss, Austria)
5. Rhineland-Palatine (sharing border with Belgium, Luxemburg, and France)
6. Berlin
7. Brandenburg (sharing border with Poland)
8. Saxony-Anhalt
9. Thuringia
10. Saxony (sharing border with Poland and The Czech)

And 6 states where I personally find rudeness the most (I don't mean to be generalizing though):

11. North Rhine-Westfalia (sharing border with The Netherland and Belgium)
12. Lower Saxony (sharing border with The Netherland)
13. Saarland (sharing border with Luxemburg, France, and The Swiss)
14. Bremen, city state
15. Schleswig-Holstien (sharing border with Denmark)
16. Hamburg, city state

*The 16 states of Germany's federation